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How Nike's New Coaching Course Helps Keep Girls Playing

By age 14, girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of boys — a trend that resources like the new Coaching Girls course in How to Coach Kids looks to erase.

Only 30 percent of youth coaches are trained to build a team culture that’s gender-inclusive and focused on building kids’ confidence through sport and play. A new, 20-minute course within the How To Coach Kids curriculum, designed by Nike and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, takes that on with modules designed to make sport fun for young girls. This follows Nike's vision for participation and development through Women Coach LA, its partnership with groups such as Sport dans la Ville, Mamba League and more.

Inspired by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, the new Coaching Girls course provides volunteer youth coaches with free, module-based training and sport-specific tools to make sport fun for young girls, inspiring them to play instead of dropping out.

A sample of what's covered in the course:

• Creating a girl-inclusive culture
• Getting to know girls—stages of development
• Giving girls choice and voice
• How bias impacts girls
• How to help girls manage stress
• How to let her play—skill-building, risk-taking and competition

“Empowering girls in sport starts with great coaches,” says Caitlin Morris, General Manager of Social & Community Impact at NIKE, Inc. “Girls deserve coaches who can directly connect with them, understand their experience and encourage them to persevere. Our goal for the How to Coach Kids’ Coaching Girls course is to give youth coaches the tools they need to help girls reach their potential.”

About Nike Social & Community Impact

Nike believes in the power of sport to unleash human potential and build community. We fuel this belief through Made to Play, our commitment to getting kids moving through play and sport so they can lead healthier, happier and more successful lives. Together with community partners and our employees around the world, we’re designing innovative solutions to get more than 17.5 million kids playing, running and jumping their way to a brighter future. Find out more about Nike's commitment to getting kids moving and providing opportunities for equal playing fields for all at communityimpact.nike.com.